Ad hoc wireless communications networks are formed dynamically as nodes come within range of existing network resources. These networks may be utilized in many applications to provide communications between lower level devices on the networks such as sensors and upper tier devices communicating with these sensors. The sensors typically operate with limited processing and memory and are often constrained by various technical limitations. Such limitations may include issues related to power consumption, small form factors and communication challenges (low speed, high error rates, and so forth) used to form the respective networks. The challenges are further complicated as there can be interdependence between the issues. For example, the level of communication within the networks impacts the power consumption in the network devices.
This disclosure relates to address generation for such ad hoc communications networks. A network includes at least two nodes that employ a routing protocol to communicate across the network. The routing protocol can be a Routing for Low Power (RPL) networks protocol, for example. One of the nodes is a parent node and other nodes are child nodes of the parent node. In some cases, the parent node can be a root node which is at the top of a hierarchical network. In other cases, the parent node can also be an intermediate node that is downstream from the root node yet can have other child nodes, sometimes referred to as leaf nodes, communicating with it.